South Africa forms a core part of MNCs’ emerging EMEA portfolios, a group that includes other major emerging markets such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Many of these markets face several years of slower growth due to a combination of factors including lower commodity prices (relative to pre-2014 levels), structural problems such as high unemployment, and inefficient state services and infrastructure, and—in some cases—political instability. Given South Africa’s importance in the EMEA portfolio and the country’s size, it is essential to ramp up performance in the market because, like other major EMEA markets, overall growth in the economy is insufficient to lift companies’ performance on its own. This requires excellence in strategy and execution, as well as identifying untapped customer segments to target.

Interestingly, some of the most pressing challenges in South Africa are opening major opportunities for companies that can offer products and services that tap growing demand for solutions— to the country’s unreliable public services, rising operating costs, skills deficits, or to risks plaguing the business environment, such as corruption and high levels of violent crime.

Watch the video below from CNBC as our Head for SSA Research, Anna Rosenberg, elaborates on the business opportunities that slow growth South Africa represents to companies across sectors!